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King Philip’s War In Marlborough Part II
King Philip’s War In
MarlboroughPart II
Where Do You Get This Stuff?
• Daniel Gookin: Superintendent of Indians• George Madison Bodge: 19th Century
Historian• Charles Hudson: 19th C, History of
Marlborough• Charles Martyn, Short Biography of
William Ward• Daniel R. Mandell, King Philip’s War• Olivia Crowell, History of Stow
Arguments from the last chapter
• Marlborough was on the first frontier and on the first main road.
• Marlborough was the first experiment of colonists and Indians living as next door neighbors.
• An incident occurred in Marlborough which helped set the tone for King Philip’s War and created a precedent for European/Indian relations across the country.
• Marlborough was the center of colonial army activity during the first of the great wars in America.
The History of Marlborough is the Story of America!
Dunce Cap Bonus Question
Q. Was there anywhere in the Americas at any time a situation where an Indian Village sat side by side with a European Village???
A. Marlborough, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1660-1675
Q. Anywhere else?
King Philip’s War in Marlborough
Part Two
The Colonial Army, Indian Spies & the Indian Invasions and Destructions
and the Abandonment of Marlborough
in the Spring of 1676
An Outgrowth of Sudbury
• Of the 38 original land grantees in Marlborough, 12 were first generation men, 18 were their sons, and most of the rest were close friends. With only a few exceptions, they were all from Sudbury.
Dunce Cap Bonus Question
Q. Was there anywhere in the Americas at any time, where a town developed that was as close knit, with so many interfamily marriages as colonial Marlborough?
A. ???
King Philip’s War in Marlborough 1676
• The town prepares• Indian spies• The Colonial Army in Marlborough• The invasion, destruction & abandonment
of Marlborough, March, 1676• The second invasion and the Sudbury
Fight, April 1676: psychological turning point of the war
After the murder of Sassamon by Philip’s men and their subsequent execution, the Wampanaugs attack Seekonk. The English respond by chasing Philip and his tribe ‘til he escapes to Central Massachusetts near present day New Braintree.
The Indians of Central and Western Mass, joined by the Wampanaugs, attack the river towns of the Connecticut River Valley in the fall of 1676. Marlborough becomes an important colonial army outpost on the frontier.
The Town Prepares
The Town Prepares
• Years of internal strife has caused a certain paralysis in preparing for war.
• Instead of the Selectmen, it is Rev. Brinsmead who gathers the town on October 1, 1675.
• Lieutenant John Ruddock, head of the town Militia and in charge of the soldier garrison, is not in attendance.
• Eight garrison houses are chosen for residents to gather in case of attack.
• Soldiers are assigned for protection.
This is the general layout of the initial garrison arrangement according to Charles Hudson. Some of the locations are certain. Others (marked with ?) are not.
Soldier Assignment (Hudson)
Garrison Soldiers Citizens TotalKerly 2 9 11
Johnson 9 3 12
Ward 3 3 6
Wood 2 2 4
Williams 3 3 6
J Rice 0 3 3
T Rice 2 6 8
Bent 3 3 6
Soldier Garrison 13 0 13
Totals 37 32 69
From Bodge’s List from the Massachusetts Archives
Bodge’s exact transcription reveals some doubt as to Hudson’s listing. Presumably he used the same source.
Lieutenant Ruddock’s Dilemnas October 1, 4, 1675
• Lt. Ruddock is in charge of the Soldier Garrison, but has lost the confidence of the townspeople. Members of the garrison are misbehaving, the town is refusing to feed the soldiers in their homes, the town wants authority to place the soldiers and the soldiers want to choose which houses to guard.
The Soldier Garrison at Marlborough
• George Madison Bodge in Soldiers in King Philip’s War
“At this time, being a frontier town, it was exposed to attacks from all directions, and being situated upon the road to Connecticut, it had been regarded by the General Court as a point of military advantage, and a fort had been built, and a small garrison was kept there.”
On the Matter of the Location of the Marlborough Soldier
Garrison in King Philip’s War
Rev. R.A. Griffin and E.L. Bigelow in Samuel Drake’s History of Middlesex County 1880:
• “…till this day traces remain of the fear and insecurity of those times. On the hill Sligo are the remains of an old stone fort connected with a well of a subterranean passage of about one hundred and fifty feet, which it is conjectured was constructed in view of those early invasions.”
• This location would be near the old water tower on French Hill.
The Indian Spiesand
Events From January to Beginning of
March, 1676
The Indian Spies• On December 19, 1675, Combined Colonial
Forces attack and destroy the Narragansett Fort at what is now South Kingston, RI. Many of the Narragansett warriors escape, led by Canonchet.
• The Massachusetts Council sought to find out what the Indians inland were up to.
• Daniel Gookin goes to Deer Island on Dec 28 and enlists two Indians to act as spies.
• Job Kattenanit and James Rumneymarsh accept the assignment and make their way to the Nipmuc winter encampment.
The Indian Spies
• On January 24th, James Rumneymarsh returns and tells that Philip is near Ft. Albany in NY, the Nipmucs are at Menemeset, the Narragansetts are about to join them, and that the plan is to combine forces and make a major offensive on the colonial frontier towns.
• He also told them that the first attack would be in three weeks, at Lancaster.
The Chase of the Narragansetts and the ‘Hungry March’
• While all this was taking place, the Colonial forces had been chasing Canonchet and the Narragansetts to the south.
• On January 26th, the Narragansetts head northwest toward Nipmuc territory and reach Menemeset about the 28th.
• The Colonial forces, about 1200 strong, run out of supplies and pass through Marlborough, about the same time, on the way to Boston.
• It becomes known as ‘The Hungry March’.• Capt. Wadsworth is left behind at Marlborough with
about 40 men.
The Indian Spies
• Job Kattenanit remained with the Nipmucs. He was interested in arranging the escape of his children and some of the Christian Indians who had been taken at Hassanamesit in November.
• Job escapes on February 9 and tells Gookin that a force of 400 was on the march to Lancaster and would arrive there on the 10th.
Lancaster
• Gookin dispatches troops to the area, with Captain Wadsworth and 40 men reaching Marlborough by break of day on the 10th. They got to Lancaster in time to save one of the garrisons, but, arriving late and being badly outnumbered, the Minister’s garrison was destroyed and the Minister’s wife, Mary Rowlandson was taken captive.
Lancaster• Mary Rowlandson’s sister Elizabeth Kerley and
her children are killed in the attack.• Both her husband and Henry Kerley had gone to
Boston to seek aid before the attack.• Henry Kerley was brother to William Kerley of
Marlborough.• This may help to explain the later terrible
treatment of friendly Indians by Marlborough women.
• Mary Rowlandson wrote a ‘Captivity Narrative’ which is a classic in early American literature.
The Indian Spies• Job Kattenanit also spoke of the Nipmucs
combining forces with the Narragansetts and the plan to attack Marlborough, Medfield and Groton.
• It was the total failure of the Colonial leaders to heed the ‘Indian spies’ that led to the catastrophic destruction of the frontier towns.
• When the spies returned, they were sent back to Deer Island.
The Attack on the Family of Thomas Eames in what is now
Framingham• On February 1, 1676, 11 Indians, including six
from the Praying Indian Village of Megunko, returned to Megunko to recover their corn.
• Not finding it, they were encouraged (or threatened) by Netus to go to the nearest English farm where their corn was presumably taken.
• They were confronted by Mrs. Eames who had resolved never to be taken alive and had defended the household with hot soap and weapons from the kitchen.
The Attack on the Family of Thomas Eames in what is now
Framingham• She and five children were killed and five or six
children were abducted.• In addition, the whole of the farm, its animals
and buildings were destroyed.• Of those taken, three boys escaped and
returned home, one girl was redeemed, and two girls and possibly a boy never returned.
• It is believed that one or more of the children were brought up as Indians in Canada.
The Attack on the Family of Thomas Eames in what is now
Framingham• This event was a major distraction to the
Colonial leaders and probably contributed to their poor response in Lancaster nine days later.
• The Eames family was one of the few families in that area and Thomas Eames had gone to Boston seeking aid.
• Netus would later be implicated in the raid on Marlborough.
Megunko Hill, at the bottom , is located between the Ashland train station to the north and Rt 135 to the south. The farm of Thomas Eames, at the top, is located near Mt. Wayte Ave, at Farm Pond.
The Colony Prepares for An Offensive
• In February of 1676, the General Court commissions an army of 600 to be led by Major Thomas Savage.
• Savage insists on using Praying Indians as scouts and advisors.
• Six men are chosen from Deer Island: Job Katenanit, James Rumneymarsh, James Speen, Andrew Pitimee, John Magus and William Nahatan.
• Four of these names appear on documents relating to the sale of the Indian lands at Marlborough in 1684.
The Colony Prepares for An Offensive
• The army is sent to Marlborough and prepared to depart on March 1. Major- General Denison is there to oversee operations.
• Job Kattenanit appeals to the Major to seek out his family which, while on his spy mission, he had arranged to meet with some of the other Christian Indians with the intention of escaping the enemy.
• Gookin: Captain Moseley “made a great stir at the headquarters at William Ward’s”. Fearing mutiny, Major-General Denison sends some men, including Capt Wadsworth, after Job.
The Second Incident at Marlborough
• Job cannot find his family, but sees evidence that they had been at the appointed location. He returns to the army.
• The small group of escapees are found instead by Capt Benjamin Gibbs who was on a scouting mission near Quabage, the Indian village near Brookfield.
• They come to Marlborough on the way to Boston, planning on staying a day or two.
The Second Incident at Marlborough
• The escapees include Tuckapawillin, the minister of Hassanamesit, his father, Naoas, the minister’s wife and their 12 year old son; a widow, caretaker of Job’s three children, the widow’s daughter; another woman and two other children.
• During the night a number of townspeople, especially women, came to the Indians’ quarters.
The Second Incident at Marlborough
• Gookin: “…some of whom did so abuse, threaten, and taunt at these poor Christians, that they being put into great fears, that in the night the minister’s wife, and his eldest son, …(the)widow…with her daughter, being four of them in all, escaped away into the woods.”
• The 12 year old boy died of malnutrition, the others were recovered after some time. The survivors were sent to Deer Island with the other escapees.
• Job Kattenanit later married the widow who cared for his children.
The Invasion, Destruction, and Abandonment of Marlborough
March 26, 1676
The Army Moves Away From Marlborough
• After the second attack of Lancaster in early February and the abduction of numerous residents, the larger force of the army under Major Thomas Savage set out after the Indian force at Menemeset.
• Around the 3rd of March they reach Brookfield, but the Indians, aware of their approach, leave Menemeset and head for the Connecticut River Valley. They reach Northfield around March 7th and meet with Philip and his troops on March 9.
The Army Moves Away From Marlborough
• The Indian spies, having certain knowledge of the plans to attack the frontier towns, plead with the following army to divert themselves to Mt Wachusett where the remaining Nipmucs are prepared to strike.
• Instead, the army continues to Hadley, reaching there on March 8. They are able to intervene in the attacks on the river towns, but leave the central Massachusetts towns exposed.
The Attack of Groton
• On March 13, the town of Groton is attacked, destroyed and abandoned.
• Major Simon Willard is ordered to act to ensure the protection of the frontier, especially Chelmsford and Marlborough. But he is tied up for the next two weeks helping the people of Groton to move toward the coast.
Coordinated attacks in March of 1676. The Indians of Menemeset and the River tribes attacked in the west, the Narragansetts attack to the south, and the Nipmucs of Wachusett attack the frontier towns along present day Rt 495.
The Soldier Garrison at Marborough
• January 14: The Garrisons from all the frontier towns are withdrawn by the Council in Boston.
• February 5: The ‘Hungry March’ comes through Marlborough, but Capt. Samuel Wadsworth is left in Marlborough with about 40 of his troops.
• February 10: Wadsworth responds to the attack at Lancaster.
The Soldier Garrison at Marborough
• Balance of February: Wadsworth is charged with ‘scouting the frontier’, with headquarters at Marlborough.
• February 10: Captain Samuel Brocklebank of Rowley is sent to Marlborough with a company of men in reaction to Lancaster. He remains in Marlborough until April 21.
• Brocklebank is placed in command of the garrisons and military operations.
The Soldier Garrison at Marborough
• March 1: Colonial Army of 600 comes to Marlborough to prepare to depart for military offensive to the west. Major-General Dennison is there to oversee the operation, Major Thomas Savage leads the army, with headquarters at the home of William Ward, near present day Artemas Ward Park.
• Capt Wadsworth is sent on the mission to recover Job Kattenanit. Half of his company is sent with the army. When he returns, he is sent back to Milton with the remainder of his company.
The Attack & Destruction of Marlborough
Sunday Morning March 26, 1676
The Angle Brook is marked in blue and would have been the west border of the Indian Planting Field. The Meeting House is the present location of the Walker Bldg. The Soldier Fort was believed to be on Sligo (French) Hill.
English homes were located in the circled areas. Most likely, the Indians approached from the north over Prospect Hill. Lands above the ‘Indian Line’ belonged to the Praying Indians, then at Deer Island. The Ward Garrison was to the southwest.
The Attack at MarlboroughSunday Morning, March 26, 1676
• The residents were at Sunday Service at the Meeting House.
• The Indians are probably seen coming over the top of Prospect Hill. There is barely enough time to escape to the Garrison at the home of William Ward.
The Attack at MarlboroughSunday Morning, March 26, 1676
• The account of Charles Hudson: “A hymn of praise had been sung. Their
spiritual leader, Rev. Mr. Brimsmead, commenced his sermon, and was dispensing to them the word of life, when he was interrupted by the appalling cry---’The Indians are upon us’. The confusion and dismay which ensued, can better be imagined than described!
The Attack at MarlboroughSunday Morning, March 26, 1676
• The assembly instantly broke up; and the people made for the neighboring garrison, where, with a single exception, they all arrived in safety, just in season to elude the savage foe.”
• Moses Newton, in helping an ‘aged and infirm female’ is shot. “In so doing he received a ball in his elbow, from the effects of which he never fully recovered.”
The Attack at MarlboroughSunday Morning, March 26, 1676
• Why the Garrison at William Ward and not Johnathan Johnson, the blacksmith?– Ward’s house was the headquarters of the
army on March 1.– It was probably a larger garrison.– It was in a more defensible position being on
higher ground on two sides, and allowing the soldiers of the Garrison to hold a higher position on Mt Pleasant.
– It was a little closer to the soldier garrison.
The Attack at MarlboroughThe Role of the Soldiers
• On about March 25, Capt. Brocklebank had written to Major General Denison requesting that the garrison be allowed to return home.
• Denison’s reply of March 28 survives in the Mass Archives. Brocklebank gives two reasons:
– “their necessities & wants having beene in the countryes service ever since the first of January at Narragansit”
– “he saith they doe little where they are”
The Attack at MarlboroughThe Role of the Soldiers
• From Brocklebank’s report to the Council March 28:
“Much Honnored sirs.
After the duty I owe unto your Honnor this may let you understand that the assault the enemy made upon the towne of Marlborough upon sabbath day did much dammage as the inhabitants say, to the burning of 16 dwelling houses besides about 13 barnes (Hudson says 13 and 11) and seemingly did indeaver to draw out the men out of the garisons but we not knowing ther numbers and our charge of the Countries ammunition and provision durst not goe out
The Attack at MarlboroughThe Role of the Soldiers
• Brocklebank (cont)“then on Sabbath day night there came about 20 men from Sudbury and we out of the severall garrison drew out about twenty more and in the night they went out to see if they could discover the enemy and give theme some checke in ther proceeding who found them laid by ther fires and fired on them and they run away at present but the number being few and not knowing the number of the enemie but aprehending by ther noyse and fireing at them they indeavored to compass them in the returne home without any losse of any man or wound from the enemie”
The Attack at MarlboroughThe Role of the Soldiers
• Result of the night assault on the Indians:– Attack was led by Lt. Richard Jacob.– Historian Hubbard says they wounded 30, 14 of whom died shortly
after.– Netus, leader of the assault on the house of Thomas Eames, was one of
the fatalities.
• Effect on Marlborough– Only one third of the homes were destroyed, but many cattle. The
meetinghouse and home of Rev Brimsmead are also destroyed– Most of the townspeople leave to join relatives or friends toward the
coast.– Four garrisons are maintained, including the home of William Ward.
The soldier garrison is maintained to the end of the war.– Brocklebank, Jacob and the rest of the Garrisoned Soldiers never get
their relief. They become fully involved in the famous ‘Sudbury Fight’.
Dunce Cap Bonus Question
Q. How many municipalities in America have been invaded, destroyed, and abandoned with no loss of human life?
A. Marlborough MA. March 26, 1676
Q. Any others?
The Sudbury Fight!
The Sudbury Fight: Indian Preparations
• Mary Rowlandsand wife of the Rev Rowlandson was captured by the Nipmucs in the attack on Lancaster on February 10, 1676 and remained with them for 11 weeks. We learn from her ‘captivity story’ that the Indians conducted an involved ritual before departing for Marlborough and Sudbury from Mt Wachusett.
• The Spirits assured them of a great victory.
The Sudbury Fight: Indian Preparations
• The Indians were badly in need of food, provisions, weapons, and ammunition.
• They are led by Muttawmp, sachem of Menemeset. King Philip (Metacom) may have been there.
• There were estimated to be about 500 warriors, but Gookin says that women may have also come to give the impression of greater numbers.
The Sudbury Fight: Indian Preparations
• In Crowell’s History of Stow:“It was on Pompositticut Hill during King Philip’s War in 1676, that the chiefs gathered in consultation to decide whether to make Concord or Sudbury their place of attack; but when one of the chiefs said “we no prosper if we go to Concord; the Great Spirit love that people, Great Man pray there”. Concord was spared…. The “Great Man” referred to was the Rev. Peter Bulkely”
• Fact or folk history?
The Sudbury Fight:Beginnings in Marlborough
• On April 18 and 19, a large band of Indians came to Marlborough and laid waste to whatever remained. This destruction was far greater than on March 26. All but a few buildings in the town, including one of the garrisons, were destroyed. Any wandering cattle were also killed.
• According to Gookin, there were 47 homesteads in Marlborough at the start of the war.
The Sudbury Fight:English Responders
• 1. The Sudbury Residents (about 80)• 2. The Concord Party (12)• 3. Capt Wadsworth approached from Marlborough (50-70)• 4. Capt Brocklebank approached from Marlborough with
Wadsworth (no more than 10)• 5. Capt Cowell came from Brookfield through Marlborough
with a ‘troop of horse’ (18)• 6. The Watertown militia (about 40)• 7. Capt Prentice came from Charlestown with a ‘ply of
horse’ troopers.• 8. Capt Hunting came from Charlestown late. His Praying
Indian troop helped bury the dead.
The Sudbury Fight:Timeline
• April 18-19: Marlborough Attacked and burned.
• April 20: Wadsworth comes from Milton with about 70 men to replace the small Garrison remaining with Brocklebank. The Indians gathered in Sudbury see the troop, but let them pass unmolested.
• April 21 early morning: Indians to the east of the Sudbury River attack buildings as far as present day Weston. Garrisons in the area do not respond for fear of ambush.
The Sudbury Fight:Timeline
• April 21, about 6am: The Indians attack the Garrison of Deacon Haynes on what is now Water Row in Sudbury, just to the west of the river.
• April 21 6am – 1pm: Indians sustain the attack and try to burn the garrison with no success.
• At Sudbury, the Indians of the west attack from the east, the colonials of the east respond from the west.
The Sudbury FightWadsworth and Brocklebank
• Capt Wadsworth arrives in Marlborough in the late evening of April 20. On hearing of the problems in Sudbury, he leaves with Capt Brocklebank and his men and heads to Sudbury. What time did they leave?
• It would only take a few hours to get to Sudbury. The first evidence that they are involved there is about 1 PM when the large part of the assaulting Indians leave the river areas to confront the oncoming Wadsworth. My best guess is early to late morning, April 21.
The Sudbury FightCowell and Wadsworth
• Capt Cowell is returning from a scouting mission to Brookfield with 18 men on horseback, passing through Marlborough.
• On hearing of the Sudbury attacks he heads for Sudbury.
• About 3 miles from Sudbury, his troop is ambushed. Wadsworth not must be far off, since he goes back to give aid.
The Sudbury FightCowell and Wadsworth
• Wadsworth draws off the Indians from Cowell, but is drawn further into Sudbury, chasing a small band. Between Goodman’s Hill and Green Hill he is ambushed by hundreds of Indians and is quickly surrounded. It must be about 1 PM, since this group must have come from the large forces at the Haynes Garrison and the river area.
• When the Indians are drawn off from Cowell, he returns to his fallen men and buries them. Then he heads to Sudbury ‘by a different path’.
The ambush of Capt Cowell is believed to have occurred on Mt. Ward in Marlborough. The road to Sudbury would have followed present day Wayside Inn Rd. Wadsworth was probably not far ahead of Cowell as he responded to the ambush.
The engagement with the Indians probably began near the intersection of Green Hill Rd. and Goodman’s Hill Rd. The soldiers repaired to the top of Green Hill on Pockonocket St. The hill is narrow on the top, very steep on the sides.
From a Brief History of King Philip’s War, Sudbury Senior Center Website
• The Colonial soldiers fought their way to a more defensible position at the top of Green Hill, but they remained completely surrounded by large numbers of Native American warriors.
• The Native American commanders dislodged the Colonial soldiers from their defensive position at the top of Green Hill by setting fire to a line of dry brush and trees upwind of them on the side of the hill.
• The wind-driven flames and smoke from this forest fire forced the Colonial soldiers into a hasty and uncoordinated retreat down the hill toward a mill building in what is now the Mill Village shopping center south-west of the top of Green Hill.
– Captains Wadsworth and Brocklebank and most of their soldiers who had survived the earlier phase of the battle were killed during this hasty retreat; some of their bodies were later recovered on the western side of Green Hill.
– A few soldiers were captured, tortured, and then killed by Native American warriors.
Pockonocket St at the intersection with Hillside Pl. Behind the houses on either side the hill runs steeply to the bottom.
The Sudbury FightThe Watertown Militia
• Watertown is probably aware early on of the Indian activity as some of the empty buildings in their town had been torched.
• Somewhat earlier in the morning after dawn, about 40 men of the Watertown militia come men to support the 80 or so town militia of Sudbury.
• The Indians maintain a position with their rear to the only ‘escape’ bridge over the Sudbury River. They number probably 150-200 on the east side.
The Sudbury FightThe Watertown Militia
• Possibly about 1 PM, the militia claim that they have pushed the 150-200 Indians over the bridge. More probably, the Indians have fully committed to attack Wadsworth and leave both the river area and the Haynes Garrison
• The Watertown men follow the Indians over the bridge and to the site of the Green Hill engagement. But they themselves are overwhelmed and they retreat to the Goodnow Garrison.
The Concord Party
• Sometime in the afternoon, a small group of 12 men from Concord come up the Sudbury River.
• Near the Haynes Garrison, they are quickly overwhelmed. According to Sudbury history, 10 are killed, 2 escape.
The Aftermath
• The end of fighting, shortly after dark, finds two groups, one at the Goodnow Garrison, one at the Noyes Mill Garrison. They are joined by Cowell’s troop, another troop of horsemen under Capt Prentice, and a force of Praying Indians under Captain Hunting.
• Inexplicably, though having a huge numerical advantage, the Indians depart.
Why did the Indians leave?
• They were possibly low on ammunition, having fought for over twelve hours.
• They probably knew that the Praying Indian force had arrived, whom they greatly feared.
The Mystery of Eleazer Ward
• Mt Ward, near the Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant in Marlborough, is named after Eleazar Ward, youngest son of William Ward.
• In Charles Martyn’s short biography of William Ward he states: “Eleazer…was shot down as he rode over a hill between Marlborough and Sudbury.”
• There is no record of his death or involvement in any official document. Or is there?
The Mystery of Eleazer Ward
• Capt. Cowell’s report is contained in Bodge’s Soldiers of King Philip’s War
• In the report he lists the four men who were killed in the ambush of his horse troop.
• For three of these he lists the full name and home town.
• The fourth name is listed only as Goodman ..a…… son. The document is badly torn in this area. The second letter is ‘a’.
• Bodge believes it to be a Roxbury soldier, but gives no good reason why.
The Mystery of Eleazer Ward
• Might it be that when Cowell comes to Marlborough and finds the soldier garrison emptied, he goes to the Ward Garrison, and picks up Eleazer as a guide?
• The young Ward might have lead him to the top of Mt. Ward to survey the events in Sudbury, where, as one of the lead horsemen, he bears the first volley of the ambush.
The Mystery of Eleazer Ward
• If this theory is correct, there are four soldiers from King Philip’s War buried on or near Mt. Ward.
• It would also mean that one of the most important battles in the history of America was partly fought in Marlborough.
• Is there any reason why there shouldn’t be a King Philip’s War Museum in the Sudbury/Marlborough area??
This is Google’s view from the top of Mt. Ward into Sudbury. It would have given a clear and unobstructed view of any battle activity. Only Marlborough and Sudbury people would have known this.
The Importance of the ‘Sudbury Fight’
• The Sudbury Fight is often spoken of as a ‘turning point’ in the War, but in what way?
• Simultaneous to the battle, Canonchet was captured and executed, and the Praying Indians became a fighting force. These were very important events as well.
The Importance of the ‘Sudbury Fight’
• Mary Rowlandson:“Yet they came home without that rejoicing and triumphing over their victory which they were wont to show at other times; but rather like dogs (as they say) which have lost their ears. Yet I could not perceive that it was for their own loss of men. They said they had not lost above five or six; and I missed none, except in one wigwam. When they went, they acted as if the devil had told them that they should gain the victory; and now they acted as if the devil had told them they should have a fall. Whither it were so or no, I cannot tell, but so it proved, for quickly they began to fall, and so held on that summer, till they came to utter ruin.”
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